– Hello, lots of thanks for answering our interview. How is everything going into the VULTURE INDUSTRIES’ camp right now?

We are busy planning touring for the year. As things look now we will manage to cover a decent part of Europe in 2014. We have also started very slowly to work on ideas for the next album, and I’m currently holed up in a cabin in the rural parts of Norway to work on it.

– First off, for all those who may haven’t heard about you yet; how could you describe your sound? As you have a quite unique one.

We mixed up everything we hold dear, from Nick Cave, Tom Waits, Devil Doll, Camel, Mastodon, Isis, Jethro Tull, Enslaved, Black Sabbath, The Cure, and so on. Then we kicked it in the leg to make it limp a little.

 

– And what have been some of the most influential bands for VULTURE INDUSTRIES? As you mix elements from different Rock and Metal styles, elements from Classical music, etc.

Apart from the above mentioned bands and artists we can ad, The Cult, Guns N’ Roses, Alice In Chains, old Alice Cooper, Arcturus, Ulver, Anekdoten, Morte Macabre, Cult Of Luna, Emperor and Soundgarden. We don’t really pick very much from and single source, but absorb the music we love and let it get processed witin.

 

– You have just released your new album, «The Tower». How is its feedback being so far? Are you satisfied with the final outcome?

The album has been extremely well received. Both new and old fans seem to appreciate it very much and the reviews have been better than ever. We are also doing quite more interviews than on the first two albums which I guess is both a consequence of the great reception and being on a larger record label. Myself, I’m very happy with both the outcome of the album and with the reception. It was the best album we could do at the time, and now with some months of distance to the release, we remain very pleased with the result and proud of what we achieved. Now the challenge remains to surpass it with the next one.

 

– Starting to dig deeper on it; what’s the main lyrical concept behind it?

The title refers to “The Tower” as a metaphorical construction that represents the society we live in and the world we create around ourselves. It might look crooked and bent from the outside, but as you are drawn into it and become part of it all the imperfections and absurdities become logical and infallible. The higher you are drawn up into the tower, the more you lose sight of the ground and the harder the fall. In part it is also a reference to the symbolism of a tower being a harbinger of destruction, the prison (the tower of London), and the tower of babbles trying to reach the heavens.

 

– In fact on all yours albums everything seems to be part of the package, everything works as a whole, and I think on this new effort you make no exception so, what could you comment on the cover artwork (the artist, its meaning, etc.)?

This time we worked with the Romanian artist Costin Chioreanu for the first time. We met Costin at a festival called Dark Bombastic Evening in Romania where he had an exhibition. As his art really appealed to me we got in touch and it turned out he was a fan of the band. As we felt the concept of “The Tower” needed an illustration and not photography as we used on the first two albums, Costin was the logical choice. The ideas behind the concept locked well with Costins own ideas so he got an instant grasp of what artwork the album required. I knew it would be good, but the result left me flabbergasted.

 

– Musically people tends to say you are quite progressive, but I personal believe you have a quite rocker musical basis, relatively straight-forward, while the progressive elements its more on the band’s spirit: always thinking forward. Would you agree on this or is it just my perception?

I agree with you. When we write music we have a focus on writing songs, rather than complex and ambitious arrangements. The progressive or experimental element is rather an approach and mind-set, rather than a goal for where we want to go.

 

– Anyway on your sounds you play with different dynamics and textures, specially with quite long tracks. In the digital age, where people has access to a lot of albums and different bands, do you think most people will actually take the necessary time to fully appreciate your compositions?

To what a degree we reach through to people through the mass of bands out there remains an open question. Our compositions are mostly too long to fit into the radio format or any other mass commercial channel, but it was never intended for that audience anyway. In our hyper commercial consumerist society, where most people are constantly suffering from information bombardment, I think people have the need to detach themselves from time to time. For musically minded people, I think we can fulfil that function. Not as a short term distraction, but something that truly takes you to another place and keeps you there for a while.

 

– Once more, you have produced your own album. What are the pros and cons of this?

You are the boss, so you can stay on top of every artistic decision and follow your own ideas. On the other hand there is not an external producer there to stop you when those ideas were not really that good. We never worked with an external producer, so I can’t really make the comparison for VI based on experience. I did produce albums for other bands though, and when the chemistry is right, I think an external producer can add some vitality where needed and sometimes help focus the bands vision and help peel away unnecessary junk from the arrangements.

 

– And you are also the main songwriter so, is the songwriting process the same for all your albums?

It’s been pretty similar on all three albums, but for the first one Øyvind contributed more material than on the latter two. Nowadays I write most of the music, with Øyvind usually contributing one or two songs per album. The songs are pretty finished when they are presented to the rest of the members and we work out the details in the rehearsal room.

 

– All this about «The Tower» being said; how could you describe it in just 3 words?

It is human

 

– And finally, what are your near-future plans?

We are currently working on touring plans for the last part of 2014 and it seems we will be able to cover a decent part of Europe this year. Hopefully we will also be able to visit your country for the first time. Those who wish to keep updated should check in regularly on facebook.com/vultureindustries

 

Tania Giménez

tania@queensofsteel.com

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